When Destiny Calls
by AHybirdTinkerbell
Summary: Rachel Black has avoided La Push since her mother's death. Once she finished high school, she went to college when offered a scholarship. Now she has graduated and returns home, she is instantly imprinted on by Paul. Will Rachel allow Paul to be a part of her life or refuse the imprint magic that is drawing her toward her soul mate? CANON Twilight Guide pgs 268, 274, 282
1. Coming Home

**Summary**: Rachel Black has always avoided La Push since the death of her mother. As soon as she graduated from high school, she took the opportunity to go to college when offered a scholarship. Now that Rachel has graduated from Washington State and returns home, she is instantly imprinted on by Paul. Rachel refuses to have anything to do with Paul after she caught him doing something unexplainable the previous year. Will Rachel allow Paul to be a part of her life or refuse the imprint magic that is drawing her towards her soul mate?

When Destiny Calls

**Chapter One: Coming Home**

Veronica and I placed the last two boxes of my belongings into my car. I was so excited.

I had finally graduated from college; all that hard work and I had achieved my goal; a bachelor's of science in Computer Engineering from Washington State. In three years no doubt. Now that I have graduated, I had also gotten several job offers from Seattle and Portland; I even considered staying with my father for a while until I figured out what I wanted to do. It wasn't such a great idea considering my mother's memory still lives there, but I was fresh out of school, and home was the most affordable I could manage right now.

Once Veronica and I put the last box of mine into the car, I turned around to face her.

"Well," I started, "that's the last of it. Thank you for your help."

Veronica nodded. "Anytime." Then all of a sudden, she enveloped me into a big hug, I could feel a small tear on my shirt. "I really am going to miss having you as my roomie, Rachel."

I started to feel a bit emotional as well. "I'm going to miss you as well."

We pulled away from each other. Veronica was my roommate throughout the years I had attended Washington State. She'd made my college years the best I could ask for.

"Make sure you stay in touch, I'm going to need my best friend," she said in a teasingly, threatening way.

I laughed. "I will. And thanks for everything."

"Anytime Rachel. Just don't be a stranger when you come by to visit."

After we gave each other one last hug, I pulled away, got into my car and started heading towards the town that contained the ghost of my past.

I was dreading going home in some ways but in others I welcomed it. I had hardly been able to stay here since the death of my mother; that was one of the reasons I wasn't interested in coming back, but I'll get to that later. At the very least, I planned to stop by for a day or two to see how my father was holding up, and then I would head straight back to Washington State, but I wanted to graduate early so I spent my breaks working or taking more classes. I had finally graduated, and was hoping to spend some time with my brother and father. I haven't been to visit my family in a while, and it would be nice to finally see them. Of course, Rebecca wouldn't be making an appearance.

My father, Billy, was such a superstitious, old man. He took every Quileute legend to heart, and had every bit of our history memorized as if it were the bible. Ever since my brother, sister and I were little, he would tell us the legends of our tribe every night, also including how he saw his grandfather change, but I think he was just exaggerating. The legends were kind of silly, just passed down through the generations to be told to children at bedtime. I always thought they were told to us as children to keep us out of the woods at night. They say that when the Cold Ones, vampires, trespass onto Quileute land, it triggers the magic in our blood, and causing the new generation of boys on our tribe to phase into wolves. But they were just stories. I mean, come on, seriously? Werewolves and vampires? Who believes in that stuff?

In addition to my sister and father, there was my baby and only brother, Jacob. To describe him… well, basically, he is just one of a kind, but everything I know about Jacob was from what I remembered before I left school. Jacob was always happy and content to get his hands dirty or roughhouse with his friends, or even the mischief he would get into with our cousin, Quil. His happiness was the part I was looking forward to most in coming home. He just had this knack for making the world just a little bit brighter. Last time I ever really saw Jacob was my last summer in La Push before I had started my freshman year of college. He was scrawny and so thin it looked like the wind could blow him away. I haven't seen him in what felt like forever. I'll never tell him this, but I've missed him.

Along with Jacob, there was his best friend, our unofficial brother, Embry. Embry was always at our house; I guess one of the reasons he came over a lot was because of how maternal our mother was. She made him feel so much like a part of our family that we sometimes begged our parents to adopt him, so he could officially be our family. Our parents told us that Embry's mother would miss him too much. Embry's mother had him when she was in her late teens, so she spent the majority of her time working two jobs to support them.

Apart from my adoptive brother, there was Rebecca, my twin sister. I was the oldest by five minutes. You know the saying about twins, how we can look alike but have completely different personalities?

That, basically, is how you can describe Becks and I, total bookends to one another. Rebecca was the wild, carefree one, while I was calm and studious. We shared a special connection that some claim is like twin telepathy since we always knew when something wasn't right with the other. Maybe we did but I wasn't one to put stock in superpowers or the supernatural, despite the bedtime stories over the years. Becks has not made an appearance in La Push for three years; we both avoided it like the plague, because of one reason — our mother.

Our mother, Sarah Black, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had long, sleek, black hair that fell down to her waist, dark brown eyes, light russet skin, and a beautiful smile. I worshiped the ground my mother had walked on. She was perfect in the way that mothers were to their daughters. My father had felt the same; he practically bowed at her feet and would have thrown himself over a cliff if it had made her happy. When he would bring her hand up to his lips to give it a gentle kiss, and the way he used to look at her every day made me wish I could meet someone who would look at me like that for the rest of my life. I can only dream about it.

On the weekend before the summer vacation was about to end, she would throw a party for just our family to celebrate us growing up. She also threw us perfect birthday parties. She even went out of her way to make Jacob's best friend Embry, feel like he was one of her own sons. Embry's mother had him when she was a teenager, feeling like her youth was lost due to the fact she spent most of her time working two jobs to help support their small family. We loved Embry so much, he was like a second little brother to Becks and I.

And then, one tragic day was all it took for us to feel as if our souls had been crushed.

_Seven years ago..._

_The thunder was starting to begin, and Mom was getting her coat on to head to the store._

"_Mom, why can't I come with you to the store?" I asked. I always felt like a momma's girl._

"_Sweetie I will be back soon. Just do me a favor and keep your brother away from sweets, okay?"_

"_Okay, Mom," I said. "I love you."_

"_I love you too, baby," she said. Mom walked outside to the car and drove off to the store._

_Hours passed by and I began to get agitated. It had never taken her this long to go to the store. Dad was starting to look a bit worried himself. I think I am just overreacting. Mom is fine. Maybe her car broke down and she needed to call Charlie to give her a lift home._

_I kept talking to myself out of all the delusional possibilities that could have happened. Little did I know what horror awaited when the sudden sound of tires splashed through the puddles down our dirt driveway._

_Hope had welled in my chest as I rushed over to the window, expecting to see the beat-up sedan, pulling up into the drive way. Instead, I saw Charlie's police cruiser in the driveway._

So I was right, Mom's car did break down. _Or so I had convinced myself. The car probably just got a flat tire._

_I felt a slight twinge of relief, until I saw Charlie's face and that my mother wasn't with him. A lump formed in my throat, and I began to feel my heart pounding as Charlie kept taking steps closer to the door._

_I nearly jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang._

_Jacob and Rebecca came to the front door right behind Dad. Dad opened the door and was shocked to see Charlie there._

"_Charlie," Dad asked surprised and confused. "What's going on?"_

_Charlie sighed. "I was on duty when I got the call about a bad accident; I told the team I would take this, seeing as to how we're good friends. This has to be the most difficult thing I will ever do."_

"_Billy," Charlie started, "Sarah was in a car accident."_

"_Okay," Dad said slowly, "she was in a car accident, so she's in the hospital, and she'll be ready for me to pick her up in a few days, right?"_

_Charlie shook his head. "Billy, the accident she was in was really awful. The car that hit her, the driver had an alcohol level way above the legal limit, and he was driving too fast and hydroplaned when his car just collided with Sarah's. Sarah's car got swept up and hit a telephone pole. "_

"_Charlie," Dad said quietly. "What exactly are you trying to tell me"_

"_Billy, Sarah is gone. I'm so sorry," Charlie said quietly._

_I felt my lungs begin to constrict. My mother was gone. Gone. I would never see her again. Never. When I looked over at my father and my siblings, all of them had their own reactions; Rebecca started having quiet tears rolling down her face. Jacob was just numb and quiet, no words or snide comments, the shock of her death was too much for him to form any sort of reaction. Our father, the strongest man I have known my entire life, broke down. I lost what little composure I had left. What were we supposed to do now? I couldn't imagine what life was going to be like now without her._

_He wiped at his eyes with his fingers, but it was no use now that the floodgates were open. He walked over to the couch, plopping himself down. His whole body shook with the force of his sobs. My entire life, I had never seen my father lose it like that. His body was shaking. Charlie walked past us into the house._

"_Look," he said. "Why don't you guys head on to your rooms, and I'll stay here with your dad, okay."_

_We nodded our heads. Rebecca just took off towards our room, closing the door loudly. I took Jacob by the hand and led him into the room that all three of us shared together. His big brown eyes were filled with sadness. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked to the other side of the small room. Rebecca was lying face down on the bed, crying so hard her whole body shook, and her face was buried into the pillow._

_I wanted to say something to her, but I was just too upset at the moment. I ended up just crawling into my bed, with silent tears falling from my eyes. I felt so many depressing feelings at once I wasn't sure how the rest of my life would turn out from this day on._

_On a small reservation, news certainly did travel fast. The news of Mom's death brought over our closest relatives._

_Our extended family, the Atearas, were the first to stop by. Our Great Uncle, Quil III, or Old Quil as he is known as; looked so sullen, even beyond the years. This had to have hit him hard, this was his niece after all. Joy and Quil V both trailed behind him. Quil ended up going towards Jacob and taking Jake outside. Joy walked over to Dad and gave him a hug. Joy pulled away and began walking over to us._

"_I am so sorry about your mother," Joy told us,enveloping us into a hug. "Sarah was such a good woman, her accident was simply horrible."_

_Becks and I sniffled as she pulled us both into a big hug. "If you girls ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."_

"_Thanks, Aunt Joy," Becks and I whispered._

_Aunt Joy turned towards Dad. "How are the funeral preparations coming along?"_

_Dad began to choke up a little bit. "Sarah is at the morgue, they have already got her dressed for the funeral this Sunday. Her parents will be coming over tomorrow evening. Not sure my folks will be coming in until Saturday morning, considering they never cared about Sarah."_

_Of course my Dad's parents wouldn't be showing up, the drama between my mother and my grandparents wasn't exactly something I wanted to recall at this moment. Funerals, like weddings, did have a tendency to put family strife aside, however._

_Joy nodded her head. "Good, we should be celebrating Sarah's life, not ruining her memory because of foolishness."_

_The following day was the day I dreaded the most._

_Mom's funeral._

_When we arrived at the funeral home,the director had us follow him towards Mom's coffin. My stomach churned as I took in the simple coffin that had been secured shut with nails._

"_We thought it was best to secure the coffin lid," he explained. "Her body was too mangled by the accident to be displayed. No one should remember a loved one in such a terrible state."_

_Dad silently nodded his head. The funeral director left us to give us a couple of moments before the service begun._

_The sermon was sad. Old Quil gave the Quileute eulogy; stating that she is now in the care of our ancestors, and she will be watching over us forever._

_Quil Sr., being one of the elders as well as my mother's great uncle, gave a second eulogy, it was a beautiful ceremony, fitting for the beautiful person she was._

_At the end of the eulogy, we all went outside towards the cemetery to the plot where Mom would be buried. The headstone read "Sarah Winifred Wilde Black, loving sister, daughter, mother and wife." Along with some words written in Quileute blessing her grave. Each of us, Rebecca, Jacob and me placed flowers on her coffin before they began to lower it into the ground._

_As the coffin sunk beneath the earth, the grounds keepers began to shovel dirt onto it. I held onto my sister and my brother willing this to not exist. That this was just some strange nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. Tears flowed and condolences were handed out left and right with tissues and hugs. I didn't want their pity. I wanted my mother back._

_When it was over, it was just the four of us standing looking at the headstone in silence. Without another word, I walked over to the headstone, placing the bouquet of flowers Old Quil gave me at the beginning of the service, on top of her grave._

"_Goodbye, Mom," I whispered. Tears flowing down my face freely._

For months after the funeral, things at home were falling off the freaking wagon. My father spent most of his time going fishing with Charlie. He was too emotionally distraught after Mom's death, but it was the funeral that hit him really hard. He rarely ate and was experiencing sleepless nights. Becks and I basically raised Jake until Sue Clearwater and Charlie told Dad to man up and get it together for his kids. After Dad was finished with his long hours of fishing with Charlie, he went to the doctor for a physical exam. From the time Dad wasn't taking care of himself, it really took a toll on his health. There, the doctor told him that his diabetes had gotten so out of control that he would soon be confined to a wheelchair. That was another obstacle that hit us hard.

Soon, Becks and I were literally taking care of our brother and father. Which explained when, four years later after our mother's death, opportunities were flashing right in front of our faces, both Becks and I took them as our chance to leave La Push, Dad understood our pain, of how much we loved our mother and how being in the house was just a constant reminder of her spirit. We rarely looked back.

While taking care of my brother and father, I studied my ass off so that I could go to a good college. All my hard work had finally paid off when I was given a full academic scholarship to Washington State University.

_A little over three years ago..._

_Today is the day I have been anxiously waiting for since November. A day that would determine the rest of my life; if whether or not my way out of La Push had actually become realistic for me. I walked over to the mailbox, lifting down the lid and saw a big envelope lying inside. I reached inside, grabbing the envelope and gasped at who the letter was from: Washington State University. _

_With shaking hands, I ripped the seal at the top and pulled out all of the contents. There were two letters and a big book. I had a feeling about what the book and letter were about, but I wanted to read it with my own eyes._

Dear Miss Rachel Black,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Washington State University. Due to your excellent credentials and recommendations from your instructors at your secondary school, and your application for financial assistance, we are glad to inform you that you have been granted a full scholarship that will cover tuition, room and board.

We require your response to...

_I had to stop reading there. I couldn't believe it; the one school I wanted to go to had accepted me. I could finally get out of this place. I really don't want to leave Dad and Jake, but this is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. This is the opportunity to become something and have a better life that my mother wanted me to have._

_With a big sigh, I walked back into the house; I could feel my heart pounding loudly inside my chest. How would Dad react to this news? I wouldn't really know until I told Dad myself._

_I walked to the kitchen and saw Dad and Jake sitting at the kitchen table. Jacob was eating cereal. Rebecca was nowhere to be seen because she had left early in the morning to go meet Solomon, he had an important surfing competition to go to, so Rebecca went to support him._

_I moved closer towards the table. It was better to get this over and done with._

"_Dad," I called softly, "There's something important and really exciting I wanted to tell you."_

"_Okay, Rachel, what is it?"_

_I sighed and handed him my acceptance letter. He read over it and began to smile. "Oh, Rachel, you got into Washington State, I'm so proud of you and with a full-scholarship."_

"_Yes, Dad and I wanted your permission to go," I told him. His face began to droop, but he knows how painful it is for me to be around, especially since I see her everywhere I go. I know it will be so hard for him to see me leave, but it was something I wanted more than anything in the world._

"_Rachel, you have my permission to go, and when I'm a really old man just don't stick me in a retirement home."_

_I began laughing. Jacob got up from the table to go wash his bowl. While he was washing his bowl, he started talking like Jacob._

"_Now Rachel," he began. "When you come to visit us for break, you better not be the next teen mom."_

_Dad began to snicker. I shook my head._

Rebecca found her own one-way ticket out of here. While on a short road trip to California, she was invited to a surfing competition. When she was there, she caught the eyes of Solomon Finau. Becks had great tastes when it came to men and good looks. He looked like a model almost. Solomon was Samoan, tall, handsome, sweet, and very talented at his sport. They fell in love quickly despite living a couple states from each other. After three months, Solomon landed a sponsorship deal with Quiksilver and was relocating to Hawaii. Still so in love with my sister, he asked her to move with him. With Dad's blessing, she left the cold, wet and dismal Pacific Northwest for the tropical and warm Hawaiian Islands. They eloped before they moved to Hawaii.

_It was the crack of dawn and Becks still hadn't come home, this has been happening frequently since Rebecca started dating Solomon. Dad was beginning to worry about her._

"_Rachel," Dad called. "It's the crack of dawn and Rebecca still hasn't come home."_

_I shook my head. "I only know what you know Dad, that they went out for a date."_

_Dad cursed a few words in Quileute. "I'm going to call Charlie, see if he can round up a search party."_

"_Dad, I'm sure she is fine."_

_Dad was about to open his mouth again when the front door opened._

_Rebecca came home with the most giddy, huge smile on her face a girl could ever have._

"_Where have you been young lady?" My dad asked._

_Rebecca still had the huge smile on her face; I used our twin telepathy and could tell she was very excited about something._

_Rebecca walked over to the couch and sat down on it, then turned to look at Dad._

"_Daddy, there's something important I want to tell you," she said._

_Dad looked at Rebecca suspiciously. "Okay, well you know Sol and I have been dating for a while now. But I there's something important I wanted to tell you."_

_Dad was a bit shocked, but then started to flip out._

"_Oh my god, you're pregnant, aren't you?" He shrieked. Dad swiveled in his wheelchair and began ranting in Quileute._

_Jacob, who was eating his breakfast in the kitchen rushed into the living room. "So you're carrying surfer boy's fish spawn, huh?"_

"_Shut up, Jacob," Rebecca said. Rebecca stood up, shaking her head. "Dad! I'm not pregnant!"_

_Dad stopped his ranting. "You're not pregnant?"_

"_God no!" Rebecca exclaimed._

_Dad placed his hand over his heart, "Thank God. Don't ever do that to me again."_

_Rebecca just rolled her eyes. "Dad, see, the thing is last night, Simon proposed to me, and I accepted. We went to Rino last night and eloped." Rebecca held out her left hand to show the diamond ring on third finger._

_I just stood there with my dropped jaw. Rebecca is married. She and Solomon eloped. I could not believe it. How could she do something so reckless and impulsive._

"_You got married!" Dad exclaimed._

_Wow. I never thought dad would react like this. But then again he is very protective of his little girls, as he likes to call us so much._

"_I know, it's really sudden, but I love him, Dad. He makes me really happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"_

_Dad sighed heavily and began rubbing his eyes. "Becks, you're just so young, you have a whole life ahead of you."_

"_I know, Dad. But Rachel and I just feel so sad being in this house, it's just been hard since Mom died, and Solomon feels like my other half. Like he belongs to me," Rebecca admitted._

_Dad rolled over in his chair towards Becks, taking her hand into his. "Becks, I know living here since your mother's death has been hard on you, on Rachel as well, I understand. But if this Simon guy makes you truly happy, then you have my blessing."_

_Becks bent down and began hugging Dad. "Thank you daddy. You don't know how much this means to me."_

_They hugged for a few minutes before Becks moved away. She had a sly smile still on her lips._

"_I'm really glad you're accepting our marriage, Dad," Becks continued. "Because there's more I have to tell you."_

_Dad raised his eyebrows. "There's more?"_

_Becks nodded. "Yes. Sol's manager, she's in charge of his earnings. He bought us a house in Honolulu, and it's really quite big, there's enough room for both of us, and seeing as to how we are married now, he wants me to go with him."_

_Now I was about to have an anxiety attack. My only sister was leaving._

"_You're leaving La Push," Dad said sadly. I could feel pressure building up in my chest, I had a feeling it was a panic attack. My only sister was leaving, and what's even worse, I may hardly see her again. I was going off to school in a town that was an eight hour drive from here, but Becks is moving to another state._

_I turned to look at my Dad and Jacob. Jacob looked angry and upset._

"_I hate you!" Jacob yelled at Rebecca before running past the front door._

"_Jacob!" Rebecca pleaded. Rebecca was about to go after Jacob, but I waved my hand in front of them._

"_It's okay," I said. "I'll go and talk to Jacob."_

_I went out the front door and saw Jacob running towards the garage. The garage has always been Jacob's safe house, until he was a first-hand witness to something that was extremely tragic, but that's Jacob's story to tell._

_I jogged over to the garage and saw Jacob sitting in a little ball, under the work counter. My poor baby brother looked so miserable._

_I walked over to the bench and squatted down. "Can I join you under there?"_

_Jacob merely shrugged his shoulders._

_I went under the work bench and sat down next to Jacob._

"_Jake," I asked hesitantly. "Why did you run?"_

"_It's just…," he started. "It's just I have already lost mom, and I don't even really remember her, you're going off to college, and now I'm losing Becks."_

_I felt my heart drop. To Jacob, we were the only motherly figures he really had, and now, he felt like Becks was abandoning him._

"_Jake, Becks isn't abandoning you; she just wants to be happy. And we need to be happy for her. If we're don't, then she may not ever come back to visit."_

_Jacob only nodded his head. I reached over and hugged my brother._

"_Everything will be okay, you'll see." I gave Jacob one last reassuring hug before we both got up and headed back toward the house. The conversation that Dad and Rebecca were having began to rattle us._

"_Dad, come on, it's a great solution, you and Jake should move to Hawaii with me and Solomon. Let me take you out of La Push," Rebecca pleaded._

_Dad shook his head. "Sweetheart I know you mean well, but La Push is my home, and I want to stay here alright, where all my memories remain."_

_Rebecca looked sad but nodded, she wanted to respect dad's wishes. "I'm going to go and pack my things Dad." Rebecca gave Dad a quick hug before she went into our bedroom and began packing._

Sol was set up in a cozy beach bungalow courtesy of his new sponsors that had a lovely deck where Rebecca loved to spend her time drawing. She often sent home pictures that looked like something straight out of a postcard.

We were both happy to leave, but sometimes, I did feel a twinge of guilt at the fact that we practically abandoned our little brother. During the time I was away at school, I couldn't help but worry about him. The last time I spoke to my father, he had told me the Jacob was having some huge crush on Charlie Swan's daughter, Bella. Apparently, Jacob thought he was in love with her. Dad was hoping that he would get over it and find someone else, but we've both known Jacob long enough to know how stubborn he's always been. Once he had his mind set there was usually no budging him.

I looked at my gas tank and noticed it was almost at empty. I pulled off onto the next exit, and drove for about a block until I was in front of a gas station. Grabbing my purse, I went inside and started walking towards the front door of the gas station. When I looked up at the door to swing it open, I froze and was shocked at the picture I saw.

I moved closer to the glass and stared at what was in front of my face. A flyer of a boy, who was missing, it wasn't just any boy - it was my baby brother, Jacob. It had the recent school picture he had taken the previous year. Underneath the picture were words in bold black, "Have you seen this boy?"

A/N: Thank you for reading my story. Please review, reviews keep me writing


	2. Explanations

**Chapter Two: Explanations**

I felt my blood boil. My baby brother was missing? Why hadn't anyone told me? He could be lying dead somewhere. What's worse, I'd spoken to my father just the other day, and he never once told me when we talked on the phone. Did he just forget to mention that my kid brother was missing? Feeling furious, I ripped the flyer off the pole, stuffing it into my pocket. Once I went inside and paid the cashier for the gas, I got into my car, slamming the door, and sped home.

So many scenarios were floating around my head. How could Dad not tell me anything about this? How long had he been missing? So many questions and irrational tragedies about what could have possibly happened to Jacob ran through my head that they began to give me a severe headache. I felt like my brain would have exploded. I'd lost my train of thought when police sirens began to ring.

I groaned as I pulled over; I really didn't want to deal with this at the moment. Looking into my side mirror, I saw the cop getting out of the car. It became an even bigger surprise when I saw it was Chief Charlie Swan, one of my dad's oldest friends who had pulled me over.

I rolled down the window. Charlie bent down - looked into my face and was shocked when he saw me.

"Rebecca?" Charlie asked, confused.

I shook my head. "No, Charlie, it's me, Rachel," I confirmed.

Charlie nodded. "Ah, sorry about that, I forgot you and Rebecca were identical twins."

I nodded. "It's okay, Charlie, not many people can tell the difference between us."

"Well anyhow, back to the police matter. Are you aware that you were speeding?" Charlie began.

I sighed, it was so like Charlie to try and be serious. "Yes, I'm really sorry, Charlie. I just saw the poster of Jake missing, and something came over me."

Charlie nodded with understanding. "I understand Rachel, believe me, I would be driving the exact same way if I had seen flyers like that of Bella. What I don't understand is why Billy was so reluctant to have the flyers posted around town."

I sat still until I could register what had just been said. "What are you talking about Charlie?"

Charlie shrugged. "Billy just didn't want the posters to be placed around town; I thought they would be helpful."

I felt my blood begin to boil. Dad didn't want those missing flyers of Jacob around town?

"Well, Rachel, I'm going to let you go with a warning, but just don't speed anymore alright. Let me know if you hear from your brother, okay," Charlie said.

I nodded my head. Charlie walked back over to his police cruiser and drove off. Once Charlie was out of sight, I turned my engine back on and began speeding again.

I kept driving up the pathway until I reached the little shabby red house that was my childhood home. As I pulled my car in front of the garage, I noticed my father's wheelchair bound figure waiting in the front door frame. I quickly grabbed my bag, the flyer and walked right up to him. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the crumpled flyer.

Dad was smiling. "Rach, boy have I missed-"

I waved the flyer in front of my father, cutting off his cheery welcome. Really how could he be happy at a time like this? "What is this?" I snapped.

My dad looked sheepish. "Ahh, Rachel, listen -"

"Jake's missing? _Missing_? My baby brother is missing, and you didn't think to tell me? Have you told Becca?" I interrogated, getting very upset.

My dad sighed. "Jacob's not missing."

"Then how do you explain this?" I snapped. "How could he not be missing when there are flyers posted all over town?"

My dad sighed and muttered, "Charlie. He insisted on putting up those damn things."

"So everyone knows he's missing?" I asked.

"Rachel, just come inside and let me explain," my dad stated.

I nodded and followed my father into the house and sat on the sofa. Once I was situated, he began telling me the past year's events I had missed in La Push.

"Okay, so explain, why are there posters of Jacob all around town? And I spoke to Charlie, he said you didn't want the flyers around town?" I asked.

"Charlie is the one who insisted on putting up those damn things, I didn't think they were necessary. But Rachel, sweetheart, you missed a lot of things while you were away at school. But Jacob is not in any danger."

"Then what happened?" I pushed.

Dad sighed. "Well remember how I told you Jacob was spending a lot of time with Charlie's daughter?" he started. I nodded my head recalling our previous conversation.

"This is the part I left out. Last year, Bella's boyfriend left her. She was so shattered, and depressed. Charlie started to become worried about her, thinking he would have to send her to a professional place to get some help. I had never seen him feel so useless.

"Suddenly, Bella stops by, and she and Jake begin hanging out. They started becoming closer, developing feelings for each other. Until Bella's boyfriend moved back to town, then she and Jacob sort of had a falling out.

"Jacob believes he is in love with her. But when Bella chose her old boyfriend over Jacob, Jake kept trying to pursue her, hoping Bella would eventually change her mind. However, Bella still chose the lee- I mean her old boyfriend. Then once Bella left Jacob heartbroken and after Jake got into his little motorcycle incident, he still has a little bit of hope that Bella would have had a change of heart, but it didn't make one difference. In the end, he just ended up getting even more hurt."

"So, Jacob has the hots for Charlie's daughter, gets into a motorcycle accident, and he just decides to takes off?" I asked incredulous. That sounded nothing like the sweet baby brother I knew three and a half years ago.

Dad just nodded. "Nope, that's not even the worst part. To make this situation even more difficult, Jacob got an invitation to their wedding in the mail and just took off."

I have never felt as sorry for my brother as I did at that moment. "And you didn't try to stop him from running away?" I asked quietly.

"Jake's in pain, Rachel. I think he just needs a break to cope and then he will be back. I let you and Rebecca go to move on from things. I'm doing the same for Jacob. It's not like I don't know that he's okay."

Still wondering why my dad was so nonchalant about all this, I asked, "So he calls you? Checks in to see how you're doing?"

"In his own way he does." He looked taken aback as if he didn't know how to answer the simplest question. "It's complicated."

"That's not really an answer, Dad. It's not complicated, he either calls or he doesn't."

Dad flinched a little. "Like I said, it's complicated, Rach. Jake will come home when he's ready."

I became suspicious... feeling like my Dad was keeping something from me. "And exactly how long has Jake been on this so called little 'vacation'?" I asked, emphasizing the vacation part.

My Dad sighed and looked away from my eyes. "He's been gone since June."

When did he say? I think I just had a stroke. "June? Dad, it's the middle of August!" I shrieked.

"I know. Rachel, just calm down." Dad urged as he held his hands up.

"Calm down," I sputtered. "Calm down! What do you mean for me to just calm down? You expect for me to sit down here and calm down while my baby brother is out there, probably lying dead in a ditch somewhere!"

"Young lady. . ." My dad's temper started to show. It took a lot to get my father truly angry. "I understand you are upset, but don't raise your voice at me."

I felt a little ashamed at that moment. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I understand," Dad said. "I know you feel responsible thinking that this is your fault, but do you truly believe if you had not gone to college things would have been different? That Jake wouldn't have gotten a silly teenage crush on a girl? Jake just needed to get away and clear his head. Once he has had time to calm down, he will realize it was just a crush. He'll most likely imp-," Dad stopped, cursing under his breath before heaving a sigh. "He'll come back, Rachel."

"You still could have told me," I reminded him. "All those times we spoke over the phone . . . and nothing."

"You were about to graduate," he reminded me. "You had enough going on without me telling you something else that would have most likely given you a stroke over the phone."

Finally feeling defeated, I gave a heavy sigh. "Okay. Have you eaten today? I could make something."

"That would be really great, Rach."

I nodded and got up to go to the kitchen and opened the pantry. To my surprise, it was empty; it was like _The Grapes of Wrath._

"Dad!" I exclaimed. "There's no food in this house. Have you been starving this whole time?"

Dad just chuckled. "No, Rachel. Sue Clearwater has been stopping by and bringing me meals, and even cooking for me. So I've been taken care of."

I rose an eyebrow. "So, you and Sue Clearwater?"

Dad looked alarmed. "It's not like that! Sue is just a friend, besides, Harry has only been gone for a year. I don't think Sue is ready to move on quite yet."

I shook my head. "Sure, Sure. Well, I am going to the Clearwater Supply Store to go pick up some groceries, until I can plan a trip over the weekend to Forks to buy more things over there."

I walked over to Dad and gave him a quick hug before walking out the door, getting into my car and driving to the supply store. As I was driving, I couldn't help but notice that La Push has not changed one bit. Everything was in the exact same place as it had been. Nothing had moved a single inch. I drove until I pulled up to the store. Turning off my engine, I got out and walked into the store. I walked inside. From my early childhood, it had always been Harry I saw working behind the counter, but instead it was now manned by some really tall muscular teenager. Since when had they hired people to work in the store, it had always been a family establishment.

I let go of my weird thoughts and began browsing around the store for something I could make for me and Dad over the next few days. Browsing through the aisles, I eventually got some Pasta Roni, several bags of frozen vegetables, a couple packs of soda's and the Hormel Pot Roast dinner. I decided while I was here to grab some things for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. I was moving into the aisle that had some snacks when I heard two teenage girls gossiping.

"I can't believe what has happened to those sweet boys we used to know at school," one of them said, saddened.

"I know, Quil, Embry and Jacob used to be such good kids and now look what's happened to them," the second girl said.

Did those girls just say Jacob?

The first girl agreed. "Especially Jacob, he used to be such a good kid until he started getting involved with Sam Uley's gang."

WHAT! My baby brother was in a gang! What has been going on since I left La Push.

"Well, it was only a matter of time before Jacob joined. I mean, Quil and Embry are his best friends, I guess Jacob didn't want to be without them."

"Not to mention who else is in that little gang, Paul Lahote and Jared Cameron. Paul, it's understandable because he's always so angry, but Jared? He already had such an amazing life, he was captain of our football team and he gave it up just to join that freaky group."

"Yes, Paul has quite the temper, it's most likely the reason Jacob left in the first place, to avoid them. Not to mention Jacob and those boys are on steroids. The muscles they got during the past year and their recent growth spurt were very scary; I almost didn't recognize him when I saw him walking around with Embry. Jacob was well over six foot at the time and would have given a professional wrestler a huge smackdown in the cage."

Wait a second, was that another reason Jacob left? Because of this Paul guy? So, Jacob had wanted to leave the gang so he ran away! What is happening to La Push? Now I really didn't like this Paul person and I didn't even know who he was.

"Let's not forget poor Leah, I think she's in that gang too. She chopped off all her hair and is now five-ten. She probably did those steroids too."

"Yes, after Sam, her almost fiance dumped her for her cousin, why would she join his gang? Especially after all that."

I thought I remembered someone named Sam. I heard he was dating someone, but I didn't know it was Leah. How awful it must be for her when he dumped her and for her cousin no doubt.

"I don't know. Maybe they were involved in something illegal when they were dating, and he's using it against her."

"Maybe Leah killed someone and Sam helped her cover up the crime."

One of the girls gasped. "I bet anything it's true."

I couldn't listen to anymore of this. No wonder Jacob left, he wanted to escape that gang and my cousin was in it. I moved away from the aisles towards the checkout.

The guy at the cash register was enormous, with muscles bulging out of every inch of his body. He had to be at least six feet tall. When he looked at me, his features seemed very familiar, all happy and cheerful. He reminded me of Harry and Sue's son, Seth, but Seth was just fifteen, there was just no way he could look like a twenty-four year old.

"Hi," the kid said cheerily, smiling so hard I thought his face would explode. Only one person I remember could have a smile that big, but I wasn't entirely sure.

"Seth?"

The guy looked at me, then his smile got bigger than I ever thought possible. "Rachel?"

I smiled at him. "Yes, it's me."

Seth then pulled me into a hug, that was a bit hard before he let go. What made the hug hard was his muscles. They were rock solid, and his body felt like he was running a temperature."I can't believe you're back."

"I know. It feels weird to be back here."

"You're all done with college?" Seth asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I graduated last week."

"That's great Rachel. I'm glad you're happy."

I smiled. "Thanks Seth. By the way, are you ill?"

Seth shook his head, and laughed a little. "Nope. Why?"

"Well, not for this to sound weird, but your body is really hot."

Seth laughed again. "I'm not ill, Rachel, I promise. It's just a condition that runs in my family. Yeah, that's all it is."

I decided to let it go considering I had not seen Seth since he was a kid and didn't want to make a bad impression.

Seth rang up the things I bought. "So your total is sixteen dollars and fifty cents," he said, cheerfully. I kept shaking my head as I noticed how he always had a smile on his face.

I opened my purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to Seth. He gave me back my change and handed me my bags.

"Do you want some help carrying those to your car?" Seth asked. Even though he was enormous he was still the same sweet kid I knew back when I lived here.

"That's okay, Seth, I can handle it. I'll see you around."

"Bye, Rachel," Seth waived at me before turning around to help the next customer in line.

I walked out of the store, placing the groceries in the back seat of my car, before I went to the driver's seat and drove home. On the way, I couldn't help but think about what those girls in the store were talking about, despite the fact that I don't usually put stock into rumors.

Is it possible? Was Jake really in a gang and thought he had to runaway to escape this Paul guy? Does Dad know about this? Is this why he is not so worried about Jacob running away?

I was pulled away from my thoughts as I pulled up to my house. I grabbed my groceries and stormed right into the house. I didn't want to acknowledge Dad until I was in the kitchen.

I started pulling the groceries out of the bag, slamming them down on the table, while I turned on the oven to cook the Hormel Pot Roast, I heard my Dad's wheelchair come up behind me.

"Rachel," he asked slowly. "Did something happen at the store?"

I let out a heavy sigh before I turned around to face him. "Dad is Jacob in a gang?"

Dad's eyes went blank before he responded. "What? Rachel what on earth are you talking about?"

"I heard these teenage girls talking at the Clearwater Supply Store and they were talking about Jacob and Quil being involved in some gang with Sam. And that Jacob couldn't get out of the gang and that's why he ran away."

Dad's eye began to twitch a little before running his face over his hand. "Listen Rachel, I don't know who has been saying such things, but I can assure you Jacob is not, in any way, in a gang. And I told you why he ran away, because he needed time to think."

"Sure, Sure, then explain to me why young Seth Clearwater is the size of the Incredible Hulk?"

Dad began muttering several things in Quileute before covering his face with his hands. "Rachel, it's just Seth's. . . hormones. He's a teenager, they grow a lot, that's all."

"Hormones? Dad just because he is going through puberty doesn't mean he should be the size of the Beanstalk. And what is this I hear about my cousin, Quil, being in that little gang, clique or posse... whatever you want to call it."

"Rachel, they are not a gang. Jake is with them because they protect the tribe, that's all, they protect the tribe to make sure the tribe is safe," he said, calmly.

I couldn't register what Dad was saying. "They protect. . . the tribe? Protect the tribe from what? This is La Push, nothing bad happens here."

"Not that you know of," Dad muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Rachel, Jacob is fine, his friends come by to tell me how he's doing and he will come back when he is ready. He just needs space to cool off," Dad reasoned.

"It's just, I can't believe he left. I haven't even seen him in what feels like forever."

"I know Rach, but don't worry, he'll be back eventually," he said calmly.

I nodded. "Well, I need to get dinner ready."

"Are you sure you don't need help, Rachel?" Dad asked.

I shook my head. "That's okay Dad, I can manage."

He left the kitchen while I continued to prepare dinner. I threw the pot roast into the oven, and began to make the alfredo. I couldn't help, but have the feeling like Dad was hiding something from me. Hormones? Nobody ever gets that tall with hormones, genetics, sure, unless he was doing steroids like those girls were talking about.

After an hour, dinner was ready, so I called Dad into the kitchen so we could eat together. We sat in awkward silence for a while until Dad spoke.

"So, Rachel," he started, "How did school turn out for you?"

"School was great," I said, enthusiastic. "I had a really great dorm roommate while I was there Veronica."

"Did you two become close?" Dad asked.

"Yes, she actually reminded me a lot of Becks actually. Only Veronica will be going to Harvard Law School next year, so we promised to keep in touch."

"I'm glad you two got to become really good friends," he said, happy.

I nodded and smiled as well. "Yes, I was very fortunate to have her as my roommate. "

Once we finished eating, I cleared the table and washed the dishes while my father went to watch television. I then joined him on the couch. He was watching _The Matrix, a _well-known action film. The movie was about two and a half hours long. By the end of the film, we were both extremely exhausted, so we decided to call it a night.

"I'm going to call it a night. Good night, Rachel,"Dad yawned.

I yawned as well. "Me too, Dad, good night." I called to him as he wheeled himself into his room.

I walked into the bedroom that used to belong to all three of us and changed into my pajama outfit. I still imagined seeing my kid brother sleeping in the corner, but it was only a memory. When I climbed into bed, I laid in the sheets thinking about today's events.

Strange things had been happening since I left. The town talking about 16 year old boys being part of gangs, my dad acting so suspicious and cryptic whenever I asked him the simplest questions, or the fact that giant sized Seth had a ridiculously high body temperature.

Something weird was going on around town and believe me, I would find out the truth eventually.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I put the town gossip because it was very canon, the town would have been talking about the growth spurt of the boys, especially the high school girls. As always please read and review


	3. Broken Memories

**A/N: Okay, bit of warning, there will be a sad moment**

**Chapter Three: Broken Memories**

"Dad, I'm going for a walk on the beach. I should be back in about an hour."

"Alright, Rach, just be careful."

"It's La Push, Dad, what's the worst that could happen?" I said with a slight laugh.

I thought I heard him mumble under his breath, "You do not want to even know the worst that can happen here."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, enjoy your walk."

I'd woken up that morning feeling strangely overwhelmed. For no particular reason, I kept feeling that I needed to be somewhere else. Besides, my brother's disappearance, the rumors, and my dad's cryptic behavior were making my head spin.

I walked towards First Beach, and when I reached the edge, I slipped off my sneakers and socks and began walking in the sand. I kept getting the feeling that I needed to be somewhere else. I felt jittery and couldn't stop walking; as if something was pulling me towards the beach. I was beginning to think that I was just paranoid and figured the fresh air would do me good. I missed and loved how the sand felt between my toes. Oh how I have missed this wonderful sand.

As I walked further along the beach, I was having brief flashbacks to when Becks and I were five and Jacob was just a baby. Becks and I were playing in the sand, making moats and sandcastles, while Mom and Dad watched us, Mom rubbing her belly constantly. My walk down memory lane was suddenly interrupted when I bumped into someone. I almost fell down, but was stopped because the person I had ran into had grabbed a hold of my shoulders.

"Watch where the fuck you're going," a deep angry voice yelled, letting go of my elbows.

"You bumped into me. You should watch where you're going." I retorted as I looked up. The guy standing in front of me was almost the same size as Seth, but a little taller. He was at least six-foot, maybe a bit taller. He had bulging muscles all over his arms and abs and was obviously Quileute.

When I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine, everything became a whirl of magic around us. Once I looked into his eyes, everything vanished. The guilt of not being here to help my father and brother vanished, and the depression of my mother's death was gone. The man's angry expression went from furious to soft, his eyes glazed over, and his mouth turned into the shape of a small 'O'.

He kept staring at me for the longest time. Now, I was usually a calm, serious person, but finally losing all patience with him, I asked, "What are you staring at?"

With the same flattered expression he said quietly, "You are really beautiful."

I was intensely flattered with his compliment as he was very handsome, and I had to find out who he is.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Paul," he responded. Then all my hatred rushed back. This was the guy who was responsible for my brother leaving La Push.

"Paul?" I said disgusted. "As in the Paul who hangs out with Sam and his gang, the one from which my brother ran away from."

"What? What are you talking about?" Paul asked confused. "Wait a second, are you Rachel?"

"Yes, I'm Rachel, and I know you are part of that little cult that recruited my brother and my cousin, Quil."

"Rachel, I don't know what you've heard, but we're not a gang."

"Forget about it. I don't have time for this."

I turned to try and get away from him, but he grabbed my arm. "Let go of me," I practically screamed.

He did so instantly, as if he had been hit with a tazer gun.

Once I was free from his grasp, I started walking home. As soon as I was at the edge of the beach, I put my shoes back on and walked until I was at the front door. When I was five steps away from the house, I heard a wolf howl.

That was so scary. Since when did La Push have wolves living in the woods. That just seriously scared the crap out of me. I opened the door to the house and slammed it shut. At the sound of the door slamming, my father jumped in his wheelchair and took in the look of fury on my face, fury that he had never seen on my face before.

"Rachel?" he asked cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

"No," I replied while plopping myself down onto the couch. "Everything is not okay."

"What happened on your walk?" he asked.

"I was walking along the beach when some big gorilla ran into me. When I looked up to see who ran into me, the big idiot turned out to be, Paul, the one who's in Sam's gang."

"Really?" Dad asked shocked. "You think Paul is an idiot and in a gang?"

"Yes, I mean he is involved with that Sam guy," I ranted.

Dad sighed. "How do you know Sam?"

"I don't exactly know him, but I heard people talking about him in the Clearwater's store. They talked about how Quil, Jacob, and Embry were involved as well."

Dad looked at me curiously. "Since when do you listen to the town gossip?"

I shrugged. "I usually don't, but it was out of nowhere, and when I heard them mention Jacob, I just couldn't pull myself away from their conversation. I know it was wrong for me to listen, but I just couldn't help it."

Dad just chuckled.

"Oh, that's not even the worst of it," I ranted. "After I looked up at him, he began to look at me really weird, it was starting to freak me out."

Dad shot his left eyebrow up. "How did he look at you exactly?"

I scowled. "His eyes had a glassy sheen, and he just stared at me with his mouth hanging open."

Dad's eyes went wide, began to look irritated, started cursing again in Quileute, and then started saying some weird prayer begging for mercy from the Quileute spirits. Then, he began to breathe in and out heavy sighs.

"Rach…" he paused, trying to figure out how to put what he was trying to say. "Maybe you should ease up on Paul. He does a lot of things for the tribe."

"What kind of things does he do for the tribe?"

"Paul and some of the other guys on the reservation are…" he said, looking around the room as if the answers were going to appear on the wall in front of him, "…bodyguards so to speak. Their job is to keep the tribe safe."

"Keep the tribe safe," I repeated with slight confusion.

Dad nodded his head. "Yes, to keep the tribe safe from things happening. Jake was one of the protectors before he left."

Hearing Jacob's name made me a bit sad again.

"When will Jake come back?" I asked him sadly.

"Most likely when he stops feeling so much pain."

My heart kept breaking every time I thought about the emotional suffering my baby brother was going through that made him feel the need to leave home. I started feeling depressed again, so I decided to call it a night.

"Well, it's been a long night so I'm going to bed."

"Alright, Rach, sleep well," he said.

Once I was in my room, I changed into my pajamas; a purple camisole with matching bottoms. Getting beneath the covers of my bed, I lay down, looking through the window. Even as I lay completely still, I had a jittery feeling going through my body; as though something was telling me I shouldn't be here. As if something far more important was missing in my life, but I couldn't figure out what that something could be.

The next day, I made Dad and I some breakfast. It felt really nice to actually have the both of us sitting at the table, chatting. I was starting to feel like my family again. Later, while I was doing some chores around the house, the doorbell suddenly rang. I walked down the hall to answer the door, and — surprise, surprise — it was Paul.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

Holding up his hands in defeat, he said, "I came to talk to Billy."

"Talk to my Dad about what?" I asked, ruder than normal.

"I wanted to tell your dad about how Jacob is doing," he answered.

"Fine!" I spit out and walked into the kitchen to get my dad. "Paul's here to talk to you."

"Thanks, Rach," he replied as he wheeled himself towards the front door.

I was watching from the kitchen as my dad and Paul whispered. While they were talking, Paul hung his head a couple of times. However, the last thing my father said made his face light up, and when Paul left, he had a bright smile on his face.

Dad closed the door and wheeled back to me.

"So, what did he want to talk to you about?"

My dad sighed. "He was just giving me an update on Jake. He's not coming back yet."

My dad paused then took in a big breath. "Listen, Rachel, it may sound weird, me asking you this, but why don't you consider giving Paul the benefit of the doubt…get to know him?"

I could only imagine that I must have had the most shocking expression ever plastered on my face. I felt as if I had just been slapped.

"Are you kidding me?" How I had the strength not to yell at my father was beyond me. "He's in that little protector group gang, and now you're trying to play matchmaker?"

Rubbing his fingers over his eyes, he tried again. "Rach, it may sound to you like I'm siding with him —"

"Because you think we're so perfect for one another," I muttered.

"No," Dad said with a heaving sigh, continuing, "because he's a good man, who cares about our tribe and would die before letting any harm come to us."

Finally losing patience, I raised my voice. "This is getting us nowhere. I don't like Paul, or any of his little gang friends, and I don't want anything to do with him."

Before Dad could respond, I stalked off to my room and slammed the door shut. I understand that my father was an Elder. He, Quil Sr., and Sue were all on the tribal council. Sue had taken her husband, Harry's place after his heart attack the previous year. They had to deal with these sorts of things every day, so I knew he must have had a reason to say what he said. Paul was a bodyguard for the tribe, so of course the Elders knew he was a good person. Sometimes it was hard to try and ignore the town gossip, especially when it's about my cousin and brother. Could my father's wisdom be right? Should I consider giving someone like Paul a chance, to see him for who he was on the inside?

Over the next couple of days, Paul started making daily visits to my house to inform us that Jacob wasn't coming home for a while. Every time Paul came over, I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous he was. I couldn't help but admire his appearance, with his toned biceps, six-pack, and unique bone structure; it made me not want to stop looking at him. No matter how hard I fought my attraction to him, it wouldn't let up. I was pretty sure he knew I was starting to feel something, by the glimmer in his eyes whenever I spoke to him.

He always had a slight smirk on his lips when we were talking, resembling a child on Christmas morning. He had to have known that I was starting to have feelings towards him. Paul might be a bodyguard for the tribe, but it seemed he would always have that hostile attitude.

But, I didn't have time to think about the hoodlum right now. Today was the anniversary of my mother's death. Dad had such a depressed expression that I just had to get out of the house. I just left the house without saying a word to Dad. While I was walking along the beach, I remembered a time when Jake was two and Becks and I were seven.

_We were all at First Beach. Becks and I were building a sandcastle. We kept trying to make it as big as we could, until Jacob wobbled over and sat on top of the castle._

_Becks and I began to laugh. "Jacob!" We both exclaimed. Jacob began to get all teary eyed, until Mom walked over to pick him up._

"_Oh, Jacob, it's okay, your sisters didn't mean it, right girls?" she asked, looking at us._

"_Yea, Jacob, it's okay, we can just build a bigger and better one," I told him._

"_Sure, sure," Rebecca muttered._

_Mom moved closer to me, and held my cheek, looking into my eyes. She had pride in her eyes, knowing that her daughters wanted to keep their brother from getting upset._

Then before I could stop it, other memories of my mother flashed before my eyes. After just ten seconds, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I cried. I cried so hard that my whole body shook. All the pain and emotions that I kept locked in for the past several years just came out, pouring from me.

I had never lost it as I had at that very moment.

After ten minutes of pure weeping, I fell down to my knees, then leaned backwards to allow my back to lie flat against the sand. Not even bothering to move, I remained still, staring at the dark clouds. I hadn't realized how long I have been lying on the sand until it started to drizzle.

"Rachel," a deep, dark voice called my name. "What are you doing here?"

I looked up, and to my surprise, saw the worried features of Paul staring down at me. The concern he had for me made my heart melt just a tad.

"I came down here for a walk, but I didn't notice until now that it was raining," I said.

"Would you like for me to walk you home?" Paul offered.

I was amazed that Paul was actually being sincere and offering to help me. For a moment, I wasn't sure if this was real or if it was just a figment of my imagination.

"Sure," I said. "That's very generous of you."

With an excited smile, Paul took off his long sleeved shirt and handed it to me.

"Here, you'll need this so you won't be too cold," he said.

"Don't you need your jacket, though?"

Shaking his head, he replied, "Nah, you need it more than I do."

With that said, Paul escorted me home. It might sound weird, but it felt to me like we had just gotten home from a date. While we walked home, passing through the woods, Paul noticed the sad look on my face. "Is everything okay, Rachel?"

I sniffled. "No, everything is not okay."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Once I heard those words come out of Paul's mouth, I started to sob, so hard that he pulled me towards his chest as I cried. I didn't know why, but I just opened up to him.

"Everything is just so awful. I feel like my family has been torn apart. Jake ran away, Rebecca never makes an appearance around La Push, and today is the anniversary of my mother's death."

I continued to sob into his shirt as he rubbed small circles on my back, his head resting on top of mine. I kept crying for what felt like hours. When I finally finished, I pulled away from him and began wiping the tears from my eyes.

"I'm so sorry for crying like a sap," I laughed.

Paul nodded. "It's okay, really, I understand what it's like to lose someone you love."

I looked up at him shocked. "Oh, is one of your parents gone too?"

He shook his head. "No, my parents are divorced. I was talking about my little sister."

"You have a sister?" I asked.

"Had," he corrected. "It was really bad."

"Oh," I muttered softly. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it."

"No, it helps to talk," he said. He moved towards a log and sat down, patting his hand on the space next to him. I was a bit reluctant, but yet somehow, Paul was able to sense that.

"I don't bite," he joked.

What's the worst that could happen?

I moved towards Paul and sat down next to him on the log. I was about to encourage him to continue, but he went ahead and started.

"There is a reason why my parents are divorced and why my sister is gone. It was when my parents were still married. We lived in Tacoma. My parents were always fighting, even over the smallest things. One day they got into a real heated argument. My mother told me to take my sister outside, so I did what she said. I took Lydia, my little sister, and we walked around until we were near the lake that was less than a block away from my house."

"I heard something from behind me, and went to check it out. I was only gone for less than a minute, but when I got back Lydia was gone. There were bubbles floating at the top of the lake. I ran home as fast as I could to tell my parents. My dad jumped into the lake to find her, but it was too late. Lydia had drowned.

"They called the ambulance and the coroner came by the house. He pronounced her dead and took her body to the morgue. Once she was gone, the fighting got worse, and there were days when my mom wouldn't even get out of bed. My dad tried to make things as normal as he possibly could, but it still didn't matter to me. After her funeral, all I felt was numbness. My parents finally made the divorce official, and Dad and I moved to La Push.

"Throughout my entire childhood, I felt guilty because all I knew for a fact was that my baby sister was dead, and it was all my fault. In some ways, it's my parents fault as well. If they weren't always fighting and hadn't told us to go outside, then she wouldn't have drowned. I really think my sister's death is the reason I have so many anger issues."

I couldn't really say much of anything at that moment. Paul understood my pain; he knew what it was like to lose someone you love, especially at a young age. I had never felt as sad for someone as I did at this moment. Without hesitation, I reached over and hugged him; he wrapped his arms around me too.

When I breathed, I caught his unusual scent. It held a mixture of different scents like oak, woods, and fresh sea salt. His scent was very comforting. It made me forget about all the pain I had been feeling these past few days. His scent made me feel . . . like I was at peace. Even just hugging him made me feel like I had found the other piece of my soul.

Finally, I pulled away from him and gazed into his eyes. Something about it made me feel like I belonged with him; as if some spirit was telling me, "this is the person you're suppose to be with, so get him while you can."

We pulled away from each other, getting up from the log, and began continuing on our way until I was home. He walked me up to my door, like a perfect gentleman.

"Thanks for helping me through my emotional breakdown," I said.

Paul chuckled. "It wasn't a problem. And thanks for listening to my problems."

Before he left, he gave me a long, loving hug and then took off through the woods. Once I saw he was gone, I closed the door and leaned against it, feeling a twinge of guilt about all the horrible things I had said about him. It was a wonder he still wanted to talk to me. I wondered if maybe there was something to him that I had never understood before.

It took the time that Paul spent walking me home to make me realize that Dad was right; Paul and I had something in common. However, there was something else, some other thing we had in common, and I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

_**A/N: Pretty sad huh? I wrote this scene because when I worked with my pre-readers, we thought there has to be a reason why Paul is so angry all the time. The tricky part was to ensure that it followed within the canon universe that SM had laid out in the books and the guide, so I gave him a small canon story that would express his anger problems. Also it will get me a little while longer to get chapter four up, because it's not turning out the way i want to, I will not abandon this story but I want next chapters to be as perfect as I can so it'll be a while.  
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_**Thank you for reading my chapter! Those who review will get a sneak peek of Chapter 4!  
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